— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

JOURNEY CUT SHORT: BJP leader Pramod Mahajan at the Parliament House complex in New Delhi in December 2004.

MUMBAI: At 4.10 p.m. on Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary Pramod Mahajan succumbed to the grievous injuries he sustained when he was shot by his younger brother, Pravin, here on April 22.

Despite concerted efforts by a team of specialist doctors in the P.D. Hinduja Hospital, Mr. Mahajan died following multiple organ failure, after 12 tension-filled days during which he hung between life and death.

On Tuesday, the 56-year-old leader's condition worsened as efforts to deal with the Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) that had set in over the weekend failed. By early Wednesday afternoon, doctors informed the family that nothing more could be done. Around 5 p.m., the Chief Executive Officer of the hospital, Dr. Pramod Lele, and Dr. Gustav Daver, who led the team of doctors treating Mr. Mahajan, announced his death.

Critical state

From the time a heavily bleeding Mr. Mahajan was rushed to the hospital early on April 22, after he was shot from point-blank range, he had been in a critical state. He was immediately operated upon to stem the flow of blood, particularly from the damaged liver, pancreas and the Inferior Vina Cava (IVC), the blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood from the stomach to the heart. In the first 24 hours, Mr. Mahajan was given almost 30 bottles of blood.

The doctors, including liver specialist Dr. Mohamed Rela from the King's College Hospital, London, who flew down at the behest of Mr. Mahajan's family, successfully controlled internal bleeding. Yet, he remained in a critical condition and was on life support medication and ventilator.

Although his condition marginally improved after the first 48 hours, complications set in when his kidneys failed and he was put on dialysis. He was also on inotropic support to maintain blood pressure. On Saturday, tracheotomy was performed for breathing problems, as there was fluid in his lungs.

The doctors were also concerned over the condition of the damaged pancreas. Despite these interventions, Mr. Mahajan developed ARDS on Monday. Dr. Daver, the lead surgeon, told the press that this was one of the contributing factors that led to the death.

The three bullets that entered Mr. Mahajan's body remained there till the end. A CT scan last week revealed that one was in the muscle of his back, one in the subcutaneous tissue of the back and the third in T12 vertebra.

The BJP arranged for the body to be kept in its Nariman Point office in the night for people to pay homage. Later, the body was taken to Mr. Mahajan's residence at Worli. The funeral procession will start from there at 10 a.m. on Thursday and the cremation, with full state honours, will take place at the Shivaji Park crematorium at noon.

Among those expected to attend the funeral are Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani.

Mr. Mahajan is survived by his wife, Rekha, and children Rahul and Poonam.

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